Production Company(ies)
Road Movies Filmproduktion, Argos Films, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
 
Distributor
Orion Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Mitte, Berlin, Germany
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
 
Year of Release
1988
 

 
Genre(s)
Fantasy
 
Keyword(s)
Wings of Desire, PG-13, Fantasy, German, Wim Wenders, Anatole Dauman, Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Solveig Dommartin, Peter Falk, written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke, produced by Wim Wenders, box office gross $120.8K, reviewed by Joe Clay, Danny Leigh, Peter Bradshaw, David Stratton, Ian Nathan, Joe Morgenstern, Steph Green, Dennis Harvey, Octavi Marti, Molly Haskell, directed by Wim Wenders, angels, Berlin, trapeze artist, love, human form, hope, Peter Falk playing himself, stereo, Dolby Stereo, flat aspect ratio, Orion Pictures
 

Cast & Crew

Bruno Ganz

Solveig Dommartin

Otto Sander

Curt Bois

Peter Falk

Damiel

Marion

Cassiel

Homer

Self

Bruno Ganz – Damiel
Solveig Dommartin – Marion
Otto Sander – Cassiel
Curt Bois – Homer
Peter Falk – Self
Lajos Kovács – Marion’s Trainer

 

Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders

Anatole Dauman

Wim Wenders

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Wim Wenders
 
Writer(s)
Wim Wenders, Peter Handke
 
Producer(s)
Anatole Dauman, Wim Wenders

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
19 wins & 16 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Joe Clay

Danny Leigh

Peter Bradshaw

David Stratton

Ian Nathan

Times

Financial Times

Guardian

At the Movies

Empire Magazine

WINGS OF DESIRE
  All Critics (60) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (1)
  Wim Wenders’ astonishing, award-winning fantasy drama depicts life in a divided Berlin through the eyes of angels.
 
  June 28, 2022
 
  Joe Clay
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  If some restorations of classic films are mere spit and polish, this one is spectacular: a deepening and sharpening of existing beauty.
 
  June 23, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Danny Leigh
  Financial Times
  TOP CRITIC
  A cinema of ideas, almost an essay movie, and utterly distinctive.
 
  June 22, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  A stunningly made valentine to the city of Berlin, which has never been more imaginatively or more beautifully filmed. A joy from start to finish.
 
  November 2, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
  David Stratton
  At the Movies (Australia)
  TOP CRITIC
  A beautiful, literate and romantic piece of cinema.
 
  November 27, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Ian Nathan
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  A fantasy that… goes right in spite of its solemn style.
 
  November 27, 2012
 
  Joe Morgenstern
  Wall Street Journal
  TOP CRITIC
  The film remains as soothing and esoteric as it was upon release, suffused with a sweet lyricality and lightness of touch despite its heavily philosophical outlook.
 
  June 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Steph Green
  WeLoveCinema
  Brobably the closest thing to a popular movie about metaphysics that the medium has had yet to offer.
 
  October 22, 2020
 
  Dennis Harvey
  48 Hills
  Peter Handke’s script plays a big role when it injects into the movie a suitable poetic breath. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  April 22, 2020
 
  Octavi Marti
  El Pais (Spain)
  Wenders has made a film that is elegiac but harsh, hard-edged and romantic, haunted as well as haunting, but that… holds out the promise of love as a benign coming-to-rest.
 
  February 27, 2020
 
  Molly Haskell
  Vogue
  It is a complex work of art that can only grow in stature from repeated viewings.
 
  October 16, 2019
 
  David Harris
  Spectrum Culture
  The film’s pacing and ethereal camera movements only help to magnify the angelic tranquility…Wenders is challenging us to rethink how we view our place in the world.
 
  February 16, 2019 | Rating: A
 
  Courtney Small
  Cinema Axis…

 

Plot
Visible only to those like them and to human children, Damiel and Cassiel are two angels, who have existed even before humankind. Along with several other angels, they currently wander around West Berlin, generally on their own, observing and preserving life, sometimes trying to provide comfort to the troubled, although those efforts are not always successful. Among those they are currently observing are: the cast and crew of a movie – a detective story set in WWII Nazi Germany – which include a sensitive and perceptive Peter Falk; an elderly man named Homer looking for eternal peace; and the troupe of a financially failing circus, which has closed early for the season because of those financial problems. One day, Damiel tells Cassiel that he wants to become human, to feel not only the sensory aspects of physical beings, but also emotional aspects. He embarks on this thought with the full realization that there is no turning back if he decides to do so. His thoughts are largely because he has fallen in love with Marion, the trapeze artist with the circus. If he does decide to become a human, there is no guarantee that as a human that he will be able to locate Marion or that she will return his affection. His angels, however, may be looking out for him.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Peter Falk plays himself in Wings of Desire.
 

 
Wim-Wenders.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.,
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1987
 

 
Genre(s)
Adventure/Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, directed by Rob Reiner, written by William Goldman, adventure, comedy, PG rating, box office gross $26.9M, reviewed by Chris Chase, Peter Bradshaw, Derek Malcolm, Ian Nathan, Richard Corliss, Carrie Rickey, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, William Goldman, produced by 20th Century Fox, swashbuckling, romance, fairy tale, Florin, William Goldman novel, postmodern, damsel-in-distress, cult classic, William Goldman, Andrew Scheinman, 20th Century Fox, Surround sound, Dolby Stereo, Flat (1.85:1), Cary Elwes as Westley, Robin Wright as Buttercup, Mandy Patinkin as Iñigo Montoya, Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdinck, Christopher Guest as Count Rugen, Wallace Shawn as Vizzini
 

Cast & Crew

Cary Elwes

Robin Wright

Mandy Patinkin

Chris Sarandon

Christopher Guest

Westley

aka “The Dread Pirate Roberts”

Buttercup

The Princess Bride

Iñigo Montoya

Cary Elwes – Westley, aka “The Dread Pirate Roberts”
Robin Wright – Buttercup, The Princess Bride
Mandy Patinkin – Iñigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon – Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest – Count Rugen
Wallace Shawn – Vizzini

 

Rob Reiner

William Goldman

Rob Reiner

Andrew Scheinman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Rob Reiner
 
Writer(s)
William Goldman
 
Producer(s)
Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 10 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Chris Chase

Peter Bradshaw

Derek Malcolm

Ian Nathan

Richard Corliss

New York Daily News

Guardian

Empire Magazine

TIME Magazine

Philadelphia Inquirer

THE PRINCESS BRIDE
  All Critics (79) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (2)
  Mandy Patinkin, an actor not known for humor, is particularly wonderful as Inigo, a Spaniard out to avenge the death of his father at the hands…
 
  February 9, 2018
 
  Chris Chase
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s an adventure which reaches back to golden-age Hollywood and the devil-may-care world of Douglas Fairbanks or Tyrone Power playing Zorro, or Errol Flynn playing Robin Hood.
 
  October 23, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  The Princess Bride easily transcends expectations, as a fantasy that has a few pertinent things to say about the genre, including the odd fact that the heroes of such things are often prettier than the heroines.
 
  February 17, 2016
 
  Derek Malcolm
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  A unqualified success that blends New York wit with timeless storytelling; a risky piece of filmaking that never feels so.
 
  December 7, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Ian Nathan
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  As you watch this enchanting fantasy, feel free to be thrilled or to giggle, as you wish.
 
  June 28, 2013
 
  Richard Corliss
  TIME Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Patinkin, the most dazzling movie swordsman since Errol Flynn, steals the movie with his athletic grace and delivery of lines like: “My name is Inigo Montoya! Prepare to die!”
 
  June 28, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Carrie Rickey
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  The film was always wonderful, featuring clever conceits plus perfect looking cast members and locations.
 
  August 11, 2021
 
  Robin Holabird
  Robin Holabird
  As the picture practically spoofs the endeavors of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, it’s also competent enough to craft its own identity as a swashbuckling thriller.
 
  September 6, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Its well-developed characters and situations take us back to the literary myths of the genre as well as the language of classic cinema. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  June 3, 2020
 
  Ángel Luis Inurria
  El Pais (Spain)
  It is, in short, CINEMA that makes CINEMA great. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
  May 7, 2020
 
  Sergio Benítez
  Espinof
  Princess Bride is very much a parody of the very nostalgic culture it was replicating and celebrating
 
  March 3, 2020
 
  Kathi Maio
  The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
  The cult of The Princess Bride is still strong 32 years after its release.
 
  July 30, 2019
 
  David Harris
  Spectrum Culture…

 

Plot
An elderly man reads the book “The Princess Bride” to his sick and thus currently bedridden adolescent grandson, the reading of the book which has been passed down within the family for generations. The grandson is sure he won’t like the story, with a romance at its core, he prefers something with lots of action and “no kissing”, but he lets grandfather continue, because he doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. The story centers on Buttercup, a former farm girl who has been chosen as the princess bride to Prince Humperdinck of Florian. Buttercup does not love him, she who still laments the death of her one true love, Westley, five years ago. Westley was a hired hand on the farm, his stock answer of “as you wish” to any request she made of him which she came to understand was his way of saying that he loved her. But Westley went away to sea, only to be killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. On a horse ride to clear her mind of her upcoming predicament of marriage, Buttercup is kidnapped by a band of bandits: Vizzini who works on his wits, and his two associates, a giant named Fezzik who works on his brawn, and a Spaniard named Inigo Montoya, who has trained himself his entire life to be an expert swordsman. They in turn are chased by the Dread Pirate Roberts himself. But chasing them all is the Prince, and his men led by Count Tyrone Rugen. What happens to these collectives is dependent partly on Buttercup, who does not want to marry the Prince, and may see other options as lesser evils, and partly on the other motives of individuals within the groups. But a larger question is what the grandson will think of the story as it proceeds and at its end, especially as he sees justice as high a priority as action.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Mandy Patinkin, not known for his humor, steals the show as the swashbuckling Inigo Montoya.
 

 
Rob-Reiner.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox, Brandywine Productions, Pinewood Studios,
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for monster violence, and for language
 
Year of Release
1986
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror/Action
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Sigourney Weaver

Carrie Henn

Michael Biehn

Paul Reiser

Lance Henriksen

Lt. Ellen Ripley

Rebecca “Newt” Jorden

Corporal Dwayne Hicks

Carter J. Burke

Science Officer L. Bishop

CAST & CREW

Sigourney Weaver – Lt. Ellen Ripley

Carrie Henn – Rebecca “Newt” Jorden

Michael Biehn – Corporal Dwayne Hicks

Paul Reiser – Carter J. Burke

Lance Henriksen – Science Officer L. Bishop

Bill Paxton – Private W. Hudson

Show all Cast & Crew

 

James Cameron

James Cameron

Gale Anne Hurd

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
James Cameron
 
Writer(s)
James Cameron, David Giler
 
Producer(s)
Gale Anne Hurd

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
20 wins & 23 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Bob Thomas

Melanie McFarland

Chris Stuckmann

Rick Kogan

Desmond Ryan

Associated Press

Salon.com

ChrisStuckmann.com

Chicago Tribune

Philadelphia Inquirer

ALIENS
  All Critics (79) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (2)
  Sigourney Weaver is merely terrific… When she straps on her armament to do battle with the aliens, she makes Sylvester Stallone look like a pipsqueak.
 
  March 15, 2019
 
  Bob Thomas
  Associated Press
  TOP CRITIC
  Beyond dispute, however, is the film’s timeless worth as a cathartic work, especially in terms of its accidentally commentary on the sexism of the corporate structure.
 
  October 4, 2018
 
  Melanie McFarland
  Salon.com
  TOP CRITIC
  The whole finale is white-knuckled, some of the best aciton and suspense film-making I’ve ever seen.
 
  May 12, 2018 | Rating: A+
 
  Chris Stuckmann
  ChrisStuckmann.com
  TOP CRITIC
  Scene to scene, encounter to encounter, its tension builds unrelentingly. So, fasten your seat belts. It`s a blast.
 
  October 14, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Rick Kogan
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  [Aliens] is a spectacular example of state-of-the-art science fiction simply because it never tries to be overtly spectacular.
 
  July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Desmond Ryan
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s blaster action, not Gothic future-horror. Fortunately, director-screenwriter James Cameron has shaped his film around the defiant intelligence and sensual athleticism of Weaver, and that’s where Aliens works best.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Sheila Benson
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  It is in its simplest form a fight between two mothers over their children to me, given the genre and the time in which the film was made thats rather remarkable.
 
  March 12, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Grant Watson
  Fiction Machine
  If more filmmakers took Cameron’s approach to sequel-making, Hollywood’s franchises might not seem so dull and homogenized today.
 
  March 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Around 100 minutes of some of the finest tension building and breathless action ever committed to celluloid.
 
  October 13, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  James Croot
  Stuff.co.nz
  Just when you think the movie is over, Cameron comes back with another piece of action more daring than the last. While Aliens has more than its share of special effects, the heart of the film’s success is its intense, unrelenting and spectacular action.
 
  August 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Tony Mastroianni
  Akron Beacon Journal
  Perhaps the greatest exemplar of science-fiction, action, and horror faultlessly blended together into one film.
 
  August 31, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  An often astonishingly engaging and entertaining sequel…
 
  July 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Nusair
  Reel Film Reviews…

 

Plot
57 years after Ellen Ripley had a close encounter with the reptilian alien creature from the first movie, she is called back, this time, to help a group of highly trained colonial marines fight off against the sinister extraterrestrials. But this time, the aliens have taken over a space colony on the moon LV-426. When the colonial marines are called upon to search the deserted space colony, they later find out that they are up against more than what they bargained for. Using specially modified machine guns and enough firepower, it’s either fight or die as the space marines battle against the aliens. As the Marines do their best to defend themselves, Ripley must attempt to protect a young girl who is the sole survivor of the nearly wiped out space colony.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
James-Cameron.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, U-Drive Productions,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Whittier High School – 12417 E. Philadelphia Street, Whittier, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1985
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Fantasy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Wendie Jo Sperber, Marc McClure, directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, comedy, fantasy, adventure, PG rating, box office gross $247.0K, reviewed by Joseph Gelmis, Lou Lumenick, Derek Malcolm, Tom Huddleston, Kathleen Carroll, Paul Attanasio, Cory Woodroof, Danielle Solzman, Wayne Broadway, Allison Rose, Mike Massie, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman: The Movie, Field of Dreams, time travel, DeLorean, 1980s, small-town California, scientist, experiment, Marty McFly, Doc Brown, parents, love, existence, Universal Pictures, Bob Gale, Neil Canton, surround sound
 

Cast & Crew

Michael J. Fox

Christopher Lloyd

Crispin Glover

Lea Thompson

Wendie Jo Sperber

Marty McFly

Dr. Emmett Brown

George McFly

Lorraine Baines McFly

Linda McFly

Michael J. Fox – Marty McFly
Christopher Lloyd – Dr. Emmett Brown
Crispin Glover – George McFly
Lea Thompson – Lorraine Baines McFly
Wendie Jo Sperber – Linda McFly
Marc McClure – Dave McFly

 

Robert Zemeckis

Robert Zemeckis

Bob Gale

Neil Canton

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Robert Zemeckis
 
Writer(s)
Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
 
Producer(s)
Bob Gale, Neil Canton

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
22 wins & 25 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Joseph Gelmis

Lou Lumenick

Derek Malcolm

Tom Huddleston

Kathleen Carroll

Newsday

New York Post

Guardian

Time Out

New York Daily News

BACK TO THE FUTURE
  All Critics (86) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (83) | Rotten (3)
  “Back to the Future” is the best comic-strip movie I’ve seen this year. It’s well-made, lighthearted and is exactly the right length to give you excitement and laughs and a few surprises, and then it’s over, leaving you feeling good.
 
  June 26, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Joseph Gelmis
  Newsday
  TOP CRITIC
  Zemeckis and Gale have cannily chosen the time periods, which are funny as much for their similarities (political and materalistic) as their contrasts (music, fashions, language).
 
  October 21, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Lou Lumenick
  New York Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Though it is hardly one of the greater flights of cinematic imagination to be seen since science fantasy reared its head as mass appeal material again, it would be virtually impossible not to enjoy it in some way or another.
 
  October 21, 2015
 
  Derek Malcolm
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Every bit as classy, clever and cockle-warming as it was 30 years ago.
 
  October 20, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Tom Huddleston
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Kids and parents alike are gonna dig this wonderful fantasy.
 
  July 7, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Kathleen Carroll
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Zemeckis and Gale have given the movie a core of feeling that makes real claims on us. For all its comedy, Back to the Future is about a kid coming to terms with his parents’ inadequacies, a moment familiar to everyone, and the fulcrum in growing up.
 
  June 23, 2015
 
  Paul Attanasio
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  The weightlessness of Back to the Future is part of its singular charm. Marty McFly and Doc Brown’s time-traveling adventure is one of our great movies because of the way it loves its characters, its story and the infinite possibilities of its universe.
 
  June 28, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  Williamson Home Page
  Back to the Future is the very definition of a summer blockbuster and the adventure-comedy is one of the best films ever made.
 
  June 3, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Danielle Solzman
  Solzy at the Movies
  It is perfectly 80s with its soundtrack, its fashion, and its gratuitous use of s-bombs in a PG-rated film. I imagine itll be hard for anyone who enjoys fun and mirth not to have a good time watching this movie.
 
  March 1, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Wayne Broadway
  Black Girl Nerds
  Fox, who was doing double duty while making the first film (he was still working on his sitcom, Family Ties at the same time) was the perfect Marty.
 
  October 19, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Allison Rose
  FlickDirect
  By far one of the most competent time travel movies ever made, addressing even the most common loopholes and pitfalls.
 
  August 31, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  It is the perfect package of entertainment, drama, comedy, excitement, and heart, wrapped up in special effects that still look convincing.
 
  August 4, 2020
 
  Allen Almachar
  The MacGuffin…

 

Plot
Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties, is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean “time machine” invented by a slightly mad scientist. During his often hysterical, always amazing trip back in time, Marty must make certain his teenage parents-to-be meet and fall in love – so he can get back to the future.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found on Fresh Kernels about the film Back to the Future.
 

 
Robert-Zemeckis.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Kennedy Miller Productions,
 
Distributor
Criterion Collection
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout, Silverton, New South Wales, Australia
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1982
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovere, Livia Venturini, directed by Federico Fellini, written by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Carlo Ponti, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by New York Daily News Staff, Tara Brady, David Jenkins, Dave Kehr, Geoff Andrew, Joe Williams, Edouard de Laurot, Brian Eggert, Chris Barsanti, Matt Brunson, Scott Nye, Loren King, MPAA rating, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, circus, Italian countryside, abusive husband, naive young woman, carefree circus fool, poignant, tragic, Nino Rota’s score, Criterion Collection, 1954, 1h 55m, 98% Tomatometer, 93% audience score, Giulietta Masina and Anthony Quinn’s pitiable pair of outsiders, unforgettable parable, simple beauty, tender humanity, compassion, absorbing drama, harshness, protest, sentimental, mush, symbols, metaphors, larger-than-life performances, bizarre, inconsequential charm, fairy tale, tragedy, poignancy, delicate performance, heart and soul, captivating innocence, magical, whimsical, dark side, effective, powerful, stylistic features, early effort, Charlie Chaplin, annoying, disappointing, in your face, top horror movies, RT Podcasts, most anticipated movies, best Netflix series, renewed & cancelled TV shows 2022
 

Cast & Crew

Anthony Quinn

Giulietta Masina

Richard Basehart

Aldo Silvani

Marcella Rovere

Zampanò

Gelsomina

Il ‘Matto’-The ‘Fool’

Il Signor Giraffa-Mr Giraffe

La Vedova-The Widow

Anthony Quinn – Zampanò
Giulietta Masina – Gelsomina
Richard Basehart – Il ‘Matto’-The ‘Fool’
Aldo Silvani – Il Signor Giraffa-Mr Giraffe
Marcella Rovere – La Vedova-The Widow
Livia Venturini – La Suorina-The Sister

 

Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini

Dino De Laurentiis

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Federico Fellini
 
Writer(s)
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Carlo Ponti
 
Producer(s)
Dino De Laurentiis

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 10 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

New York Daily News Staff

Tara Brady

David Jenkins

Dave Kehr

Geoff Andrew

New York Daily News

Irish Times

Little White Lies

Chicago Reader

Time Out

THE ROAD
  All Critics (45) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (1)
  Simple beauty is such a rare quality in films these days, when serious filmmakers everywhere seem to be turning to harshness and protest, that the tender humanity and compassion of this absorbing drama from Italy shine all the stronger.
 
  November 17, 2021
 
  New York Daily News Staff
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  It holds its own, more than six decades on. If Giulietta Masina and Anthony Quinn’s tragic two-step doesn’t break your heart, then Nino Rota’s score will.
 
  June 6, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Tara Brady
  Irish Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Undeniably powerful, but also very sentimental at times.
 
  May 19, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
 
  David Jenkins
  Little White Lies
  TOP CRITIC
  Early mush from the master, Federico Fellini.
 
  April 27, 2009
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  Symbols, metaphors, and larger-than-life performances hold sway, and moments of bizarre if inconsequential charm abound.
 
  February 9, 2006
 
  Geoff Andrew
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  July 7, 2005 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Joe Williams
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  TOP CRITIC
  Fellini has given the screen a poem of bitter and tender beauty.
 
  June 7, 2022
 
  Edouard de Laurot
  Film Culture
  Though La strada may be a painful reflection of Fellini’s life, it remains an enigmatic fairy tale whose interpretation is so specific to its author that one cannot help but project meaning onto it.
 
  February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Fellini’s fable about an innocent clown roaming postwar Italy with an abusive strongman has the romance of his later epics but a more potent sense of tragedy.
 
  January 13, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Chris Barsanti
  PopMatters
  Its poignancy is accentuated by Masina’s delicate performance and Nino Rota’s exquisite score.
 
  November 21, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Art helps to magnify our emotions, to draw them out on a grand scale and craft a drama to fit the size they hold within us. And then, it becomes a little bit easier to identify with Zampanò, and to see the beauty of this film.
 
  December 8, 2020
 
  Scott Nye
  Battleship Pretension
  The great Giulietta Masina, who was Fellini’s wife, is the heart and soul of La Strada.
 
  November 21, 2020
 
  Loren King
  Newport This Week (RI)…

 

Plot
Wandering the deserted highways of an energy-starved dystopian Australia after eradicating the Night Rider’s followers in Mad Max (1979), the former patrolman, Max Rockatansky, finds himself roaming the endless wasteland scavenging for food and precious petrol. Suddenly, in the scorched wilderness, the hungry for fuel Max chances upon a small oil refinery; however, the place is under siege by Lord Humungus’ barbarian horde of biker warlords, hell-bent on destruction and mayhem. Now, to get his hands on as much gas as he can carry, “Mad” Max will have to provide the defenceless community with a powerful truck to transport the gasoline to safety; nevertheless, this is easier said than done. Is Max, the battle-scarred Road Warrior, up to the task?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Giulietta Masina, who plays the naive young woman Gelsomina, was actually Federico Fellini’s wife in real life.
 

 
Federico-Fellini.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-14
 
Year of Release
1982
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
The Thing, R rating, horror, John Carpenter, directed by John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, starring Kurt Russell, Richard Dysart, Wilford Brimley, T.K Carter, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Bill Lancaster, written by Bill Lancaster, David Foster, produced by David Foster, Lawrence Turman, Universal Pictures, box office performance, Dolby, Stereo, Surround, MPAA rating, reviewed by Scott Cain, Anton Bitel, Adam Smith, Dave Kehr, Edward Porter, Peter Bradshaw, Brian Eggert, Peter Stack, Ginger Varney, David Nusair, Allen Almachar, Howard Gorman, 1982, 1h 48m, Antarctica, research scientists, helicopter, sled dog, shape-shifting, resourceful, gory battle, compelling tension, remarkable make-up effects
 

Cast & Crew

Kurt Russell

Wilford Brimley

T.K. Carter

Richard Dysart

Richard Masur

R.J. MacReady

Dr. Blair

Nauls

Dr. Copper

Clark

Kurt Russell – R.J. MacReady
Wilford Brimley – Dr. Blair
T.K. Carter – Nauls
Richard Dysart – Dr. Copper
Richard Masur – Clark
Donald Moffat – Garry

 

John Carpenter

Bill Lancaster

David Foster

Lawrence Turman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
John Carpenter
 
Writer(s)
Bill Lancaster
 
Producer(s)
David Foster, Lawrence Turman

 

Film Festivals
Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Scott Cain

Anton Bitel

Adam Smith

Dave Kehr

Edward Porter

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Little White Lies

Empire Magazine

Chicago Reader

Times (UK)

THE THING
  All Critics (75) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (13)
  Such a pity. John Carpenter is too gifted a moviemaker to let nauseating special effects take over his biggest, film, but that’s what happened in The Thing.
 
  November 9, 2021 | Rating: 2/5
 
  Scott Cain
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  TOP CRITIC
  The Thing is set in an all-male environment, and is as much a study of masculinity in crisis as an update of the sort of siege scenario that Carpenter had already played out in Assault on Precinct 13.
 
  October 23, 2017
 
  Anton Bitel
  Little White Lies
  TOP CRITIC
  The Thing is a peerless masterpiece of relentless suspense, retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror.
 
  May 25, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Adam Smith
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Carpenter’s direction is slow, dark, and stately; he seems to be aiming for an enveloping, novelistic kind of effect, but all he gets is heaviness.
 
  May 25, 2011
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  The special effects can’t hope to be as creepy to our seen-it-all eyes as they were to the film’s first viewers, but we can still enjoy the monster’s unique weirdness, and the story is a rock-solid yarn.
 
  September 18, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Edward Porter
  Times (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s pretty scary and entertaining stuff, though I always get the feeling that nothing in it lives up to the tremendous opening section.
 
  September 18, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  The Thing’s brilliance rests on the equilibrium between implied and visceral horror, often incompatible ideas that Carpenter stirs together in a stylish, engrossing way.
 
  March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  This version is so full of “the thing” that it strangles our imagination and becomes a mere exercise in ugly, mechanical horrorifics. Very dumb, very disappointing.
 
  November 11, 2021 | Rating: 1/4
 
  Peter Stack
  San Francisco Examiner
  The Thing is like The Howling, a showcase for fiber and latex and the products they produce, by and for people who need their nightmares to be completely comprehensible and completely unreal.
 
  November 10, 2021
 
  Ginger Varney
  L.A. Weekly
  …a methodically-paced endeavor that essentially (and effectively) captures the viewer’s interest and attention right from the get-go…
 
  November 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  David Nusair
  Reel Film Reviews
  A masterpiece of horror filmmaking.
 
  October 1, 2021
 
  Allen Almachar
  The MacGuffin
  Whether it scares you with its paranoia, claustrophobic setting, Ennio Morricone’s brooding score or Rob Bottin’s bar-raising practical creature effects, The Thing’s sole purpose is to get under your skin…
 
  June 10, 2021
 
  Howard Gorman
  NME…

 

Plot
Based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in her husband, Russ’ conviction, but he insisted he did not kill her. This brutal crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Kurt Russell stars as the resourceful helicopter pilot in The Thing.
 

 
John-Carpenter.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
American Zoetrope Zoetrope Studios,
 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, United Artists
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Baler Bay, Baler, Aurora, Philippines
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1979
 

 
Genre(s)
War/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Dennis Hopper, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr, war, drama, box office, budget, reviewed by Amy Taubin, Veronica Geng, Gary Arnold, Kathleen Carroll, Philip French, Anthony Quinn, Cory Woodroof, Andrew Bloom, Sarah Brinks, Rachel Wagner, Richard Propes, MPAA rating R, producer Kim Aubry, Francis Ford Coppola
 

Cast & Crew

Marlon Brando

Martin Sheen

Robert Duvall

Frederic Forrest

Albert Hall

Colonel Kurtz

Captain Willard

Lt. Col. Kilgore

Chef

Chief

Marlon Brando – Colonel Kurtz
Martin Sheen – Captain Willard
Robert Duvall – Lt. Col. Kilgore
Frederic Forrest – Chef
Albert Hall – Chief
Sam Bottoms – Lance

 

Francis Ford Coppola

Joseph Conrad

Kim Aubry

Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Francis Ford Coppola
 
Writer(s)
Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr
 
Producer(s)
Kim Aubry, Francis Ford Coppola

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
21 wins & 33 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Amy Taubin

Veronica Geng

Gary Arnold

Kathleen Carroll

Philip French

Village Voice

New Yorker

Washington Post

New York Daily News

Guardian

APOCALYPSE NOW
  All Critics (97) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (2)
  Apocalypse has the expressive extravagance of a Wagner opera-and not merely because the swooping helicopter scene is set to the “Ride of the Valkyries.”
 
  October 8, 2019
 
  Amy Taubin
  Village Voice
  TOP CRITIC
  It has coherence, truthfulness, and conviction-up to a point.
 
  September 6, 2018
 
  Veronica Geng
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s the cumulative effect generated by mixing richly portentous imagery with absurdly portentous prose, starkly portentous sound and flatulently portentous music.
 
  December 18, 2015
 
  Gary Arnold
  Washington Post
  TOP CRITIC
  Certainly, no movie in history has ever presented stronger proof that war is living hell.
 
  August 14, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Kathleen Carroll
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Apocalypse Now is not merely the greatest film to come out of the Vietnam experience but one of the great works about the madness of our times.
 
  May 28, 2011
 
  Philip French
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  The best of it is grand, mysterious and oddly possessed.
 
  May 27, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Anthony Quinn
  Independent (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  This is the great American nightmare, the ultimate repudiation against anything Vietnam was supposed to accomplish.
 
  July 6, 2022
 
  Cory Woodroof
  615 Film
  From the jump, Apocalypse Now conveys the sense of a man riddled with PTSD, who’s all but lost himself in the trauma.
 
  April 13, 2021
 
  Andrew Bloom
  The Spool
  The performances in the film are very strong. Martin Sheen is very good in the film. He plays things pretty close to the vest but the voiceover gives us a clear view into his thinking, fears, and insecurities.
 
  March 24, 2021
 
  Sarah Brinks
  Battleship Pretension
  I see why it is considered one of the great films of the 1970s.
 
  September 23, 2020 | Rating: 9.5/10
 
  Rachel Wagner
  rachelsreviews.net
  Apocalypse Now is the kind of film that makes me thank God I fell in love with cinema.
 
  September 2, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
 
  Richard Propes
  TheIndependentCritic.com
  Artistically, it’s quite reminiscent of film noir, with an abundance of deep shadows, a desolate voiceover by Willard, and a cast of morally unstructured antiheroes.
 
  August 27, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, ‘does not exist – nor will it ever exist’. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard’s job is to eliminate him. Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz’s outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. Now, after becoming prisoners of Kurtz, will Willard & the others be able to fulfill their mission?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing goofy or funny or odd is said about the film or anyone in the cast.
 

 
Francis-Ford-Coppola.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Brandywine Productions,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore and language
 
Year of Release
1979
 

 
Genre(s)
Sci-Fi
 
Keyword(s)
directed by Ridley Scott, starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, sci-fi, horror, classic, re-mastered, tension, masterpiece, sustained tension, white-knuckle impact, mortally wounded space exploration, frightening, evolution of modern science-fiction films, sequels, box office success, budget, reviewed by Peter Bradshaw, Terry Lawson, Robert Denerstein, Lisa Kennedy, Bill Muller, Glenn Lovell, Jeffrey M Anderson, Shawn Bowers, Blake French, Harry Guerin, Eric D Snider, John J Puccio, MPAA rating, produced by David Giler, Walter Hill, Gordon Carroll, written by Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, reviewed by critics, audience score, horror movies, sci-fi movies, Alien franchise, Alien: The Director’s Cut
 

Cast & Crew

Sigourney Weaver

Tom Skerritt

John Hurt

Veronica Cartwright

Ridley Scott

Ripley

Dallas

Kane

Lambert

Director

Sigourney Weaver – Ripley
Tom Skerritt – Dallas
John Hurt – Kane
Veronica Cartwright – Lambert
Ridley Scott – Director

 

Ridley Scott

NA

NA

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ridley Scott
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
NA

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
18 wins & 22 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Peter Bradshaw

Terry Lawson

Robert Denerstein

Lisa Kennedy

Bill Muller

Guardian

Detroit Free Press

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Denver Post

Arizona Republic

ALIEN: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT
  All Critics (49) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (3)
  They really don’t make them like this any more.
 
  February 27, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Turns out not to be one of those movies that improves in the memory, but actually is better than you remember, mostly because it puts its multitude of imitators to shame.
 
  October 31, 2003 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Terry Lawson
  Detroit Free Press
  TOP CRITIC
  Scott knew how to create tension, and the movie still has plenty of white-knuckle impact, although it’s a little tamer than I remembered.
 
  October 31, 2003 | Rating: B+
 
  Robert Denerstein
  Denver Rocky Mountain News
  TOP CRITIC
  What you will find is that the old mayhem is still masterful and that there is nothing like the big screen for this type of mortally wounded space exploration.
 
  October 31, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Lisa Kennedy
  Denver Post
  TOP CRITIC
  The movie inspired three sequels and remains undeniably frightening. It also marks a significant step in the evolution of modern science-fiction films.
 
  October 30, 2003 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Bill Muller
  Arizona Republic
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a most satisfying return to one of the few sci-fi films that deserves to be called a masterpiece.
 
  October 30, 2003 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Glenn Lovell
  San Jose Mercury News
  TOP CRITIC
  Alien is a triumph of style over substance, of lean over fat.
 
  November 7, 2006
 
  Jeffrey M. Anderson
  Combustible Celluloid
  Going back to the beginning and seeing where it all began, this film had a lot to live up to in my eyes. In the end, I was just left wondering what all the fuss was about.
 
  November 25, 2003 | Rating: C-
 
  Shawn Bowers
  Kansas City Star
  … one of the few films that can be predicted perfectly, but it?s so well crafted?and so damn exciting?that we just don?t care.
 
  November 23, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Blake French
  Filmcritic.com
  Nearly a quarter of a century down the line, a great film has been made greater.
 
  November 14, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Harry Guerin
  RTÉ (Ireland)
  It remains one of the best examples of sustained tension.
 
  November 6, 2003 | Rating: B+
 
  Eric D. Snider
  EricDSnider.com
  When Scott was finished, he thought it was too long and that the added material threw the pacing off. Therefore, he cut his own Director’s Cut. (Alien Quadrilogy)
 
  November 6, 2003 | Rating: 9/10
 
  John J. Puccio
  Movie Metropolis…

 

Plot
In the distant future, the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo are on their way home when they pick up a distress call from a distant moon. The crew are under obligation to investigate and the spaceship descends on the moon afterwards. After a rough landing, three crew members leave the spaceship to explore the area on the moon. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship’s computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a distress call. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew realizes that they are not alone on the spaceship and they must deal with the consequences.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any tidbits about the cast for Alien: The Director’s Cut.
 

 
Ridley-Scott.jpg